Dress-case.



PATENTED OCT. 8, 1907.

B. H. 1.. WALLACE.

DRESS CASE. arr'mouron I-ILBD JULY 1; 1m.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

EMILY HONORIA LEIGH WALLACE, OF LONDON, ENGLAND.

DRE SS-GASE Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Oct. 8, 1907.

. Application filed July 7,1906. Serial No. aga n.

England, have invented a certain new and useful Im- 'provement in Dress-Cases, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to a portable case or shield for suspending dresses or other garments so as to protect them from injury by creasing or crushing, and to preserve them from dust, damp, or attack from moths etc., while not in use: it is especially useful in the case of delicately or elaborately made skirts and the like such as are easily damaged by crushing and generally suffer severely in this respect when stored or laid aside in the ordinary way.

The said case consists more particularly of a series of hoops, .made preferably of wire, which form a framework to carry a covering fabric secured thereon. When complete the case resembles a cylindrical tube closed at the top. The garment to be protected is suspended inside the case by a hook or hooks or other suitable means, attached to, or depending from, other means for supporting the case, and to which the top hook is connected' Arrangements for closing up the bottom opening after the garment has been inclosed may be provided.

The device when not in use may be compressed into a small compass and packed away in a suitable box.

The frame-work of the case or shield may be made of bamboo, cane or other suitable material instead of wire, and the structure is preferably circular in section.

Figure 1 shows the case or shield separately. Fig. 2 is a side elevation showing the means for securing the case to a supporting bracket. Fig.3 is a plan showing the struts for distending the hoops. Fig. 4 is a front elevation of the supporting bracket. Fig. 5 is a horizontal section illustrating in elevation the hinged member of the supporting frame.

The divided wire hoops A (Fig. 1) are secured approximately nine inches apart to the covering fabric B. The ends of the hoops are flattened as shown at L (Fig. 3) so that they can lap over one another, and may have holes formed in them so that they can be fastened together by stitching. Before the ends of the top hoop. are closed two cross-bars G, D, are threaded on, both being passed at right angles to each other through the bored base E of a metal shank E (Fig. 2) which forms part of the supporting device. The shank E is formed atits upper end with an eye 6. The said supporting device consists of three members F G, H, of which F is secured at K bya screw or nail to the wall or wood-work of the wardrobe etc. the member H has one end formed,

for hinged connection with a strap h carried by the member F and its other end formed to surround the shank E below the eye 6 thereof, and the link G has its ends hooked as at g and g for engagement in the eye 6 and in an eye f provided at the upper end of the member F.

To the base of the shank E are bolted two two-armed double hooks J, J forming a compound four-pronged hook on which the garment is suspended.

The covering fabric consists preferably of some glazed material such as chintz, holland etc. and is dust proof, and preferably damp-proof. It is drawn in at the top and bottom at M. l

Easily damaged garments when suspended in the extended case or shield are entirely protected against injury by the rigidity of the hoops, while the in cased garment is also preserved from dust, damp, and the attacks of moths or other insects; in addition the shield and its supporting means are made collapsible, and have the advantage of being easily portable.

Havingnow described my invention what I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is: I

A dress case of the type set forth, comprising the combination with a plurality of spaced superposed hoops and struts spanning the uppermost of said hoops of a suspension device comprising a shank having a base formed with bores to receive said struts at their intersection, suspen' sion hooks below said base, said shank at its upper end being formed with an eye, a wall bracket provided at its upper end with an eye and at its lower end with a strap, a tie having its ends hooked for engagement with the eyes of said bracket and said shank and a link having one end formed for pivotal engagement through said strap and its other end formed to surround said shank below said eye.

in testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

' EMILY HONORIA LEIGH WALLACE.

Witnesses:

WALLACE FAIRWEATHER, JNo. ARMSTRONG, Jam. 

